Internet Items
Hansard on the Web. Instead of having to wait for printing or asking your friendly neighbourhood MP, you can now find a verbatim account of a Parliamentary debate within four days of the event, through www.parliament.govt.nz. Thanks to "Law Scene"
Project PROBE Update. An agreement to extend broadband to schools and communities in seven regions was signed recently by the Government and Telecom. Agreement has been reached for extending broadband in the Bay of Plenty, Gisborne-Hawke's Bay, Otago, Taranaki, Manawatu-Wanganui, Wellington/Kapiti/Horowhenua and West Coast PROBE regions. Project PROBE aims to roll out broadband to all schools and surrounding communities as a means of boosting educational and economic opportunities in the regions. Nationally, broadband coverage is now more than 90 percent of lines and Telecom will extend broadband to more than 95 percent at the end of year with the completion of PROBE contracts and other work.
Fixing the World. The Copenhagen Consensus aims to throw some of the world's greatest experts at some of the world's toughest problems and figure out just how to get the biggest bang for the buck. The idea for this grand global strategising comes from the Danish Environmental Assessment Institute (DEAI), which asked a panel of nine heavy-hitting economists to identify the ten most critical topics to address. Then the DEAI assigned a global expert to each problem. Each expert will present a detailed report on the assigned challenge, and two more experts will comment on each report. In May, the Copenhagen Consensus will convene and decide what efforts would yield the largest payoffs. The chosen issues include climate change, armed conflict, and education. As the articles are prepared, the Copenhagen Consensus will release them at its website - http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/ - and the "Economist" will publish them. Thanks to "Netsurfer Digest"
Recommendations to APEC Science Ministers Available Online. The conclusions and recommendations of the 5th APEC R&D Leaders Forum concluded in Christchurch are now available on the APEC website (www.apec.org) and are grouped according to four policy areas: Connecting research and innovation, Human capacity building, International science and technology networks, and Technology cooperation and best practice in strategic planning. Genetics Animations - www.nature.com/focus/rnai/animations/animation/animation.htm - This is an animated tour of RNA interference - a process by which RNA is modified for various reasons - courtesy of "Nature" magazine. The custom viewer features a series of animated shorts or you can download the whole sequence and watch it on QuickTime. The viewer includes a push-button glossary that illustrates and defines the various bodies and chemicals that facilitate the process.
More Microphotography - http://www.molecularexpressions.com/ - Molecular Expressions transports visitors to a world hidden from the naked eye. These photographs taken through a microscope depict the molecular structure of just about everything imaginable. View microscopic images of beer and ice cream, as well as circuits, viruses, medications, and much more.
78s from the `20s, `30s, and `40s - www.honkingduck.com/BAZ/baz_one.php?req=info - Lovers of the old American music may find this interesting. Here are over 700 vintage 78-rpm records from the collection of famous banjo expert Jim Bollman, sold at auction in the 1980s and faithfully rendered in Realaudio format for your listening pleasure. The music was recorded in the `20s, `30s and `40s and includes country music, string bands, skits, ballads, and much more. You can browse the collection by title, artist, year and even by subject.
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